This invention relates generally to interactive toy fountains. More particularly, this invention relates to an interactive toy fountain where a game piece interacts with the flow of liquid in the fountain.
Toy sprinklers and fountains are well known in the toy industry. In particular, there are a number of sprinklers that are constructed such that a jet of water can suspend a small object, such as a ball, in the air. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,164 is directed to such a baseball-like game where a ball is suspended in the air prior to being struck by a bat.
Although fountains such as these can be enjoyable for young users, the fountains in the prior art can be quite cumbersome to use and are not suitable for small children. Furthermore, most conventional sprinklers are often not very interactive in that the users do not have much involvement in the use of this fountain. Finally, many fountains are for display purposes only and are not used by individuals as a game or other form of enjoyment.
This invention provides a fountain toy comprising a channel with first and second openings and a conduit defining a downward delay path. The conduit includes a first opening that is close to the top of the channel and a second opening that communicates with the second opening of the channel. At the base of the toy is an intake portal which will accept pressurized liquid from an external source, such as a hose, and transfer it through the channel via a nozzle. A game piece, such as a ball with a diameter smaller than that of the channel and conduit, is placed in the first opening of the conduit. The game piece proceeds to travel down the conduit until it reaches the conduit opening that communicates with the second channel opening. As the game piece enters the channel, it comes into contact with the stream of liquid that has been forced through the nozzle from the intake portal. This stream of liquid forces the game piece through the channel and out of the toy fountain. Preferably, the game piece is then suspended in the air by the stream of liquid, which preferably has laminar flow characteristics.
This invention also provides for a toy fountain with a vertical channel and a helically-shaped conduit which is wrapped around the channel. Inside the conduit is a track upon which a game piece, such as a ball, will travel as it passes through the conduit. A portion of this track is partially offset from the remainder of the track. As the game piece moves from the offset part to the remainder of the track, the change in dimension and orientation of the track surface causes the game piece to slow down. The outer surface of the channel includes a series of ribs which also operate to reduce the velocity of the game piece as it moves through the conduit. After the game piece has passed the offset portion of the track and the ribs, its velocity increases as it travels through the helical conduit and into the channel. Where a user has introduced more than one game piece into the conduit, the additional delays caused by the helical offsets and the ribs help space apart the game pieces from each other, preventing jamming. Once the game piece enters the channel, it is carried by a stream of liquid through the channel and out of the fountain toy.
It is therefore a technical advantage of the present invention to provide a toy fountain that includes a downward delay path that is coupled to a vertically oriented channel, whereby a game piece will pass through the delay path and into the channel, where it is then carried by a stream of water out of the channel.
A further advantage of the invention is to provide a toy fountain with the downward delay path for a ball to travel upon before it is carried by a stream of water out of the fountain, whereby the delay path includes an offset portion for slowing down the ball before it enters a vertically-oriented channel.
It is still another advantage of the invention to provide a toy fountain where a game piece is inserted in a helically-shaped conduit and passes into a channel, whereby the ball is carried by a stream of fluid out of the channel and is suspended in the air.